On tap at Cloverleaf, unique soft-toned acorn squashed moderation retains easygoing gourd spicing, light chili flake burn and syrupy Blackstrap molasses bittering over sweet crystal malting. Meaty pumpkin astringency perfectly contrasts cinnamon-spiced pumpkin pie sugaring.
Well rounded and stylishly bold Oktoberfest evenly distributes cereal-grained caramel toasting, dewy peat earthiness, chestnut-roasted pecan sugaring and brown-sugared molasses sinew. Rye-spiced pumpernickel breading and dried-fruited raisin, prune and black cherry undertones add depth.
Brusque autumnal medium body “leads us not into temptation” with its lightly pungent raw-honeyed graining and leafy hop foliage. Mild ethanol burn weighs down brown-sugared caramel roast and gunky sour fruiting.
On tap at Poor Henry’s, soft-toned hybridized Scotch ale brewed with tart cranberries and sweet orange peels picks up subtle plum-sugared goodness over dainty caramelized Scotch malts. A delicate delight.
Richer saccharomyces yeast strain, sweeter citric spicing and heightened floral herbage distinguish complex witbier from lighter stylistic varieties. Soft-toned Curacao orange peel adjunct, emerging Valencia orange tang and sugary coriander respite engage aromatic lavender, rosemary, lotus and mint illusions over cracked wheat base. Tertiary banana, peach and tangerine sweetness contrasts sly plantain dryness.
Sassy sarsaparilla-styled suds sustains stickily sugared soda syruping over casual vanilla, licorice and birch adjuncts. Light medicinal astringency girds dainty black cherry sweetness and mild ginger spicing of heavily creamed ‘hard’ root beer. More filling and dynamic (though arguably less palatable) than viable competitor, Not Your Fathers Root Beer.
Olden-styled sarsaparilla provides a “taste of nostalgia” to 21st century beer snobs. Flavored like cola-derived Muggs Root Beer, this ‘ale with the taste of spices’ perfectly re-creates cane sugared styling (with only a hint of alcohol). Creamy vanilla extract drips lightly atop sticky sugar syruping. Light herbal hops barely dent the surface while anise-derived red licorice, cardamom and ginger undertones spice up the sweet-toothed root beer finish.
Abrupt sour fruited cleansing relegates dank rye grain pungency and floral honeysuckle mist. Lemon-dried Valencia orange tartness gains vinous green grape wisp and tingly candied spicing, but light skunking’s hit or miss.
Charming caramel-spiced yellow fruiting and resinous earthen grains outduel gooseberry-dried Nelson Sauvin-hopped white wining. Laid-back lemony orange-grapefruit souring contrasts sweet tangerine tang of dependable moderate-medium body.
Easygoing blonde slides spicy Saaz-hopped pale malting alongside zesty lemon splurge, creamed corn sugaring and soured citrus musk. Musty straw-grained backdrop picks up buttered white wheat whim beneath the tepid surface. Loud carbolic fizz drowns out a sizable portion of its ‘intimate’ flavor profile.
Bland, straw-cleared, billowy white-headed light body ruined by astringent phenol hop desiccation and lack of noticeable sweetness. Instead, maize-dried rice caking, desolate popcorn whimper and unresolved citric souring dissolve atop dull white bread spine. Try Cisco’s Sankaty Light Lager instead.
SADDLE BROOK, NEW JERSEY
In a pale green-bricked, beige-topped freestanding building just off Market Street in the quaint town of Saddle Brook, PLANK PIZZA BEER PARLOR specializes in thin-crusted sourdough flatbread pizzas while being “purveyors of artisanal ales.” Its classic West Coast brewhouse feel is reinforced by the well-rounded draught selections (listed on a USB-imaged computer screen above the white-tiled tap handles), 300-plus refrigerated beer bottles-cans and roomy interior.
Open July 2015, Plank Pizza’s reclaimed wood and metal furnishings surround a centralized rectangular bar and its high ceilings support keg fixtures, two TV carousels and exposed ducts. A staired mezzanine and cement-floored side deck provide additional seating capacity. During “Hoppy Hour” (3 to 6 PM weekdays) bottled beers for outside consumption are sold at a discount.
The food menu runs the gamut from ricotta-cheesed Bacon White pizza to Alfredo-sauced French Onion And Pepper pizza and mozzarella-cheesed Bacon Clam pizza while appetizers include sourdough pretzel sticks, jalapeno-pickled tater tots, avocado egg rolls and cajun wings.
I found eight previously untried brews on the tap menu (reviewed fully in Beer Index) ranging from local limited edition ales such as Jersey’s Brix City Wet Hop Pale Ale and Kane Deep Rooted Imperial IPA to California’s 21st Amendment He Said Tripel and Hop Concept Lemon & Grassy as well as Washington’s Elysian Punkuccino Coffee Pumpkin Ale. Hybridized West Coast dynamo, Stone Chai Spiced Imperial Stout, Georgia’s Sweetwater Hash Brown and Missouri’s Schlafly Tasmanian IPA completed the score.
Perfect for beer aficionados, pizza lovers and dining families, Plank’s pristine industrial rusticity provides the perfect casual setting for sundry individuals.